Oregon State Police released this photo of the vehicle they say Daniel Calhon drove when he lost consciousness after holding his breath. / Oregon State POlice

by Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY

by Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY

Four people were hurt, at least one seriously, Sunday after a teen motorist holding his breath lost consciousness behind the wheel and set off a three-vehicle crash, Oregon State Police and others said.

The incident took place near Manning, Oregon, in a tunnel along Highway 28, police said.

On Sunday afternoon, Daniel Calhon, 19, of Snohomish, Wash., was driving a 1990 Toyota Camry westbound into a tunnel as he held his breath and then fainted, according to a statement released by Oregon State Police.

The Toyota being driven by Calhon then crossed the center line and crashed head-on into an eastbound 2013 Ford Explorer, according to state police and KGW television. Both vehicles then crashed into the wall of the tunnel, after which a third vehicle, a 1999 GMC pickup, crashed into the Camry, police said.

The driver and passenger in the Explorer, 67-year-old Thomas Hatch Jr. and 61-year-old Candace Hatch, both of Astoria, Oregon, were taken by ambulance to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, police said.

The patient information representative at the hospital said Monday she had no record of the Hatches being there.

Calhon and his passenger, Bradley Meyring, 19, from Edmonds, Wash., were taken by ambulance to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, in Portland. The hospital said Monday Meyring was in serious condition but it did not have a record of Calhon being there on Monday. The hospital said it could not release information as to whether Calhon was treated and released.

The two occupants of the GMC pickup were not hurt, police said.

"Playing games while driving that are distracting can have tragic consequences and legal ramifications," Lt. Gregg Hastings of the Oregon State Police told KGW-TV. "The tunnel is over 750-feet long and has little room for driving error."

Calhon is charged with reckless driving, three counts of recklessly endangering another person and assault in the fourth degree.

"Don't play games on our roads," Oregon State Police said in a post on Twitter.

Some people hold their breath in tunnels as part of a game or superstition.